No. 29: Texas A&M Aggies

Spring Practice Starts: March 19Spring Game: April 14

Texas A&M Prespring Status

Texas A&M has apparently decided that it was sick of being only above-average at this whole college football thing. It appears to be doing it the right way, locking in Jimbo Fisher to a long-term contract to take away almost all of the stability concerns.

It might not be national-title-or-bust right away, but if the Aggies make a few College Football Playoffs over the ten-year contract, and win a national title, long-suffering Aggie fans will take it.

But what can Jimbo do right away? The offense welcomes back five starters up front, the quarterback situation isn’t all that bad with a few nice options, and the running backs are great – the O will be fine.

The D has to undergo an overhaul in the secondary and up front, but it’s not like last year’s group did a whole lot.

This spring is about hope. A&M got the coach, it has the pieces, and it has the fan base ready to rock. This will be fun.

Texas A&M Biggest Depth Chart Battle

Wide receiver. Of course, the quarterback battle will take center stage, but the Aggies will be fine with either Nick Starkel or Kellen Mond. Now they need a star playmaker to throw to.

There’s experience returning just about everywhere else on the Aggies, and the receiving corps isn’t all that bad with Jhamon Ausbon and Camron Buckley two excellent parts to start with. But there’s no Christian Kirk, and there’s no deep threat in Damion Ratley. Everything should be fine with five of the top seven pass catchers returning, but losing those top two might be an issue.

Texas A&M Biggest Issue

The secondary has to be better. The pass rush was fantastic, the sacks and pressure were there, and there was talent at defensive back. But the Aggies only picked off ten passes and gave up 7.5 yards per try. Eight times A&M allowed 200 yards or more, starting out with a 491-yard day from Josh Rosen, and finishing giving up 400 yards against Wake Forest.

Texas A&M Biggest Positive

The pass rush. Who gets better after losing Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall? It was the best year for the Aggie pass rush since 2011, and now most of the stars are back. The Aggies came up with a whopping 43 sacks on the season with Landis Durham coming up with a team-high 10.5 sacks and with 16 players registering at least a half a sack.

Really, Why Are The Texas A&M Aggies Ranked Here?

There’s a lot to like about the Aggies, with the veterans returning and the skills guy in place to rise up and turn things around in a big hurry. With the addition of Jimbo, A&M might not be ready to get past Alabama, Auburn and LSU to take the West, but they might not be all that far off.